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Hours-of-Service Regulations

Friday, February 1st, 2013

hours-of-service

In a letter issued last week, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) requested that the Federal Motor Carrier’s Safety Administration (FMCSA) “delay implementation of the new Hours of Service rule until three months after an appeals court renders a decision on requests by the ATA and safety advocacy groups to have the rule overturned.” 1

The ATA’s hearing against the FMCSA is scheduled for March 15th, in which the ATA plans on bringing up several issues including revision of the HOS to include a restart provision containing two consecutive breaks between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5.am., reducing a driver’s work week from 82 to 70 hours as well as a mandatory 30-minute break if 8 hours or less have passed since the driver’s last off-duty period.  Both of these becoming effective July 1, 2013.

Since a decision on the ruling is likely to take up to three months after the hearing, a decision is likely to be made as close as a month prior to the HOS ruling taking affect, therefore, the ATA is asking for an extension on the effective date of the HOS changes in order to prevent unnecessary training (or reversely, adequate changing).

As ATA President Bill Graves explains, “The requested delay will avoid potentially duplicative and unnecessary training, prevent confusion if the court’s decision alters in any manner the final rule, and, given the anticipated short length of the delay, will have no measureable impact on highway safety.  Much of the training for the rule already is under way, but the industry and the enforcement community still will need three months to finish the job once they know what the final rule says.” 1, 2

Besides the impact that the new ruling would have on drivers and carriers, the effect that the changes would have on shippers and manufactures are relevant as well.  As mentioned in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:  American Trucking Associations Inc., Petitioner, v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and United States of America, Respondent, “The FMCSA unjustifiably claimed that it need not measure the costs to shippers and receivers because ‘these entities are not subject to FMCSA regulations…’” 3

The amicus brief, which was filed by trade associations including the National Association of Manufacturers and National Retail Federation, mention the factors involved by those shippers who rely on night delivers stating, “The overall off-duty time for those drivers could be significantly more than 34 hours – in some cases over 60 hours.  This reduction in available workweek hours will force companies to hire additional drivers and add equipment. Some drivers will start work early in the morning – as opposed to making their deliveries at night as preferred by the shippers and receivers – adding trucks on the road at peak times, and leading to increased congestion and longer delivery lead times.” 3

“NGA noted that these changes would disproportionately impact its members…Grocery stores rely on deliveries early in the morning, especially for perishable goods that have a limited shelf life and must be on the shelves when stores open. With the changes to the rule, lead times for perishable goods will increase, leading wholesalers to increase inventory levels to maintain service. All of these changes would lead to increased costs throughout the supply chain.” 3

The FMCSA is currently reviewing the ATA’s request.

For a copy of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:  American Trucking Associations Inc., Petitioner, v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and United States of America, Respondent visit http://www.nam.org/~/media/CDAD402C67CB4E46A65227C89B235BE0/American_Trucking_Assns_v_Federal_Motor_Carrier_Safety_Admin_DC_Cir_07312012.pdf

What affects do you see the hours-of-service changes as having on your company?  Do you rely on late/early morning deliveries to stock your products?  Road Scholar offers expedited shipping to get your freight delivered safely on time because your point of sale is our point of service.  Learn more at www.roadscholar.com.

1http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2013/1/29/ATAasksFMCSAtodelaynewHOSuntilaftercourtdecision.aspx

2http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=79172

3http://logisticsviewpoints.com/2013/01/30/clock-ticking-on-hours-of-service-and-other-trucking-risks/

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Only 12% of Active Carriers Contain Sufficient Data for Accurate CSA Rating

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

Shortly after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) put into effect changes to the CSA’s Safety Measurement System last week, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) released a white paper explaining that “the CSA system lacks sufficient data on the majority of the industry to render meaningful scores for most motor carriers.” 1

According to the ATA, the FMCSA “has sufficient violation data to assess 40% of active carriers in at least one category but only enough to assign a percentile rank or score in at least one category to 12% of active carriers,” which the FMCSA claims is non-problematic since ‘those carriers are involved in 83% of the crashes.’” 1

But the ATA emphasizes that many accidents are not even reported to the FMCSA (less than 75% according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute), leading to inaccurate CSA ratings.

The FMCSA believes that their statistics are accurate due to utilization of their State Safety Data Quality (SSDQ) system, which estimates the number of non-fatal accidents by looking into the number of fatal crashes, comparing these estimates with the number of actual reported non-fatal crashes, giving those states a rating of “good,” “fair,” or “poor.” 2

Although the FMCSA’s findings note that the majority of states are classified as being “good” when indicating their crash numbers, the ATA points out three main flaws that lead these results to be considered inaccurate.

*The FMCSA model of determining whether or not a state is doing an appropriate job in reporting non-fatal accidents is too broad, giving the state a wide threshold to report numbers in.  For instance, “Texas needed to transmit between 12,551 and 25,163 accidents, a range of 12,612 accidents,” a number that far exceeds accuracy. 3

*Although the number of reported non-fatal accidents may only slightly vary in small states year after year, the FMCSA’s threshold varies depending on the number of fatal accidents in that state.  As the ATA noted, “Alaska experienced an annualized fatal accident count of between 1 and 3 for each month in 2012.  When the annualized count was 3, the model expected between 58 and 136 non-fatal, reportable accidents, a range of 78. When the annualized count was 1, the model predicted between 17 and 47 accidents, a range of 30.” 2 The ATA concluded that the number of fatal accidents is not a reliable indicator in determining the number of non-fatal accidents in a state.

*Finally, although the FMCSA claims that most states do a “good” job in reporting crash statistics, which the agency considers as evidence that their ratings are accurate; the previous explanations explain these numbers as unreliable.

The ATA concluded by stating that “Thorough examination of state police accidents reports (PAR) remains the only way to accurately measure State accident reporting to MCMIS.” 2

Read the ATA’s White Paper: Underreporting of Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes:  Assessment of FMCSA’s Crash Reporting Measurement Tool December 2102 at

http://www.trucking.org/Miscellaneous%20Documents/12%204%2014%20-%20Underreporting%20of%20Crashes%20December%202012%20Final.pdf.

Do you agree with the ATA that the FMCSA’s CSA system contains insufficient data?  What do you find to be the consequences of having this “inaccurate” in the system?

1http://www.supplychaindigital.com/global_logistics/ata-speak-out-about-csa-data-limitations

2http://www.trucking.org/Miscellaneous%20Documents/12%204%2014%20-%20Underreporting%20of%20Crashes%20December%202012%20Final.pdf

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ATA Releases 2013 Trucking Forecast

Friday, October 12th, 2012

ATA

At a panelist discussion consisting of the American Trucking Association’s Bob Costello, National Association of Realtors’ Lawrence Yun, and HIS Global Insight’s Gregory Daco earlier this week, the ATA released their 2013 trucking forecast, calling for a slow, steady “GDP growth of about 2% for this year and 1.8% for next year” for trucking and the economy.1

THE FISCAL CLIFF

As Daco commented, “I think we’re in for a number of quarters of medium growth, a picture of good but not great,” at the same time explaining that “if the country goes over the fiscal cliff, HIS Global Insight is predicting two consecutive quarters of negative growth in 2013.” 1 The fiscal cliff Daco is referring to is “the simultaneous onset of tax increases and spending cuts that will be triggered on Jan. 1,” due to the Budget Control Act of 2011 going into effect, “that many believe would push the country back into recession and drive unemployment up even higher,” an issue that was brought up multiple times by the panelists throughout the session.2

VOLUMES

According to Costello, tonnage is up 3.7%, however, freight volumes are headed sideways.  As he explained, volume is up 0.4% for large TL and LTL carriers while volumes for small TL carriers have decreased 4.6%. 1

Who will do well?  Costello states that tank trucks (whose loads are up 6.6%), will do well due to fracking, as well as flatbed carriers (up 5.7%) due to housing.

HOUSING

Housing starts are expected to increase nearly 50% in the next few years, however, as Yun remarked, “Those will be solid gains, but we have to remember we need to increase 100 percent just to get back to normal. Home prices will increase 5 percent next year and another 5 percent the following year so that’s a 10 percent growth that means there will be fewer underwater homeowners and once they get above water they begin to move to newer homes.” 2

CAPACITY/DRIVER SHORTAGE

Another issue brought up by the panelists was capacity, which is expected to remain tight due to the shortage of trucks and drivers (with a current shortage of 20,000-30,000 which is expected to increase over the next year due to stricter regulations) to transport freight. The panelists suggested that carriers “ensure drivers have more time at home, provide reliable equipment to company drivers and offer pay incentives and bonuses” in order to prepare for the driver shortage and maintain/attract drivers. 3

“THE NEW DIESEL FUEL”

Along with driver shortage having an impact on capacity is the number (and with that quality) of trucks on the road.  As more and more carriers are replacing older equipment (due to stricter regulations) they are reducing their fleet size by trading in two old tractors for one new one.  In fact, on average, fleets have increased by 1% or less with “large truckload fleets off by about 5%, small truckload carriers down by about 9%, and less-than-truckload down by 11%.”1

This pressure on carriers to replace equipment (without building capacity) is what Costello deemed “The New Diesel Fuel.”2

ECONOMY

As previously stated, the economy is expected to grow 2% in 2012 due to factors such as housing.  At the same time, there lie risks/uncertainties, which Daco pointed out being domestic, the debt ceiling, and foreign stating that “the U.S. could withstand a mild European recession, but could not withstand a full-blown financial crisis there.”2

What are your comments regarding the American Trucking Associations’ 2013 Trucking Forecast?  Do you agree with Costello that replacing equipment is “The New Diesel Fuel?”

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1http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=78274

2http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2012/10/10/Trucking2013forecastnotgreatbutnotgloomy.aspx

3http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=30345&t=Driver-Shortage-Requires-Industry-Action-Experts-Say

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Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, Freight Quotes, LTL Freight Quotes, LTL freight, Northeast Regional Freight Quotes, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off

New Issue Takes Number One Spot in ATRI’s Trucking Industry Survey

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

ATRI

At an American Trucking Association’s meeting in Las Vegas on Monday, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released its 2012 top ten issues in the trucking industry, displaying ongoing issues while debuting new concerns.

Below are the top ten issues identified by over 4,000 trucking industry stakeholders participating in ATRI’s survey.

1.  CSA

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s CSA gained the number one spot for the first time as the top issue currently affecting the trucking industry.  In last year’s ATRI survey, drivers and owner-operators listed their concerns over CSA.  These included:

Job Security- With stricter regulations, CSA is predicted to remove 10-20% of drivers from the industry, increasing an already slim driver pool.  When asked how concerned drivers were over their own job security, they had equally diverse feelings, with 35.5% not being concerned at all, 32.5% being somewhat concerned, and 32% being extremely concerned.1

Safety- The CSA has stricter regulations in an effort to improve safety on the road.  But do drivers notice increased enforcement efforts as a result?  When asked if they noticed any changes in the number of times they were pulled over for roadside inspections, 27.2% admitted to a greater frequency, 6.9% to a decreased frequency, and 65.8% to no change at all.1

With the number of roadside inspections believed to be the same, drivers also admit there to be no change in their safety behaviors or vehicle standards, with 75.5% stating that their vehicle standards have not changed and 68.3% believing that their positive safety behaviors are the same.1

As American Trucking Association CEO Bill Graves explains, “This has been one of the biggest changes confronting our industry in the last 25-30 years — probably since deregulation.  CSA still has some serious flaws.”2

2.  HOS

Whereas the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration upheld a driver’s HOS at 11 hours, the group revised the hours of service provision to include two consecutive breaks between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5.am., reducing a driver’s work week from 82 to 70 hours,  which leads to lower wages since many drivers are paid by the mile.

The ATA, along with other groups continuing to oppose the ruling, are seeking changes to the following: 11-hour daily driving limit, 30-minute required breaks, and 34-hour restart provision.3

3.  Economy

Coming in at the number one spot last year, the economy fell to third this year due to continued, yet slow, growth, which the ATA expects to be at 1.5% for the rest of the year.

4.      Driver Shortage

It comes as no surprise that there is a shortage of drivers in the industry, which is expected to increase to 150,000 by the end of 2012 and reach 240,000 by the end of next year.

This shortage is the result of many combining factors including the trouble of finding new, qualified drivers to replace those who have retired, with this problem becoming worse with a 21-year-old age requirement, stricter regulations, and the cost of training, among many others.

5.  Fuel Issues/Prices

Fuel and oil were found to be the second highest carrier cost in ATRI’s Operational Cost of Trucking Survey, with diesel costs increasing 33.7 cents per gallon from October 2011 to September 2012.4

6.  EOBRs

Electronic Onboard Recording Devices ranked a new high since first appearance in the survey in 2007.  As ATRI’s survey states, “Though FMCSA had been working towards a new EOBR/ELD final rule that addressed harassment concerns, the agency’s work was preempted by the inclusion of an EOBR/ELD mandate for HOS tracking in the MAP-21 transportation bill passed by Congress in 2012.  In MAP-21, Congress gave the agency until October 1, 2013 to issue a final rule.”4

7.  Driver Retention

Last seen in ATRI’s top concern list in 2006, driver retention takes a spot again with driver turnover reaching the highest since 2007 in 2012’s 2nd quarter at 106% for large carriers due to “driver pay, driver quality of life, demographics, and workplace environment.”4

8.  Truck Parking

With CSA and HOS changes requiring drivers to take mandatory breaks, parking has become a factor for trucks, making its debut for the first time on ATRI’s list.

9.  Driver Health/Wellness

Along with the debut of truck parking is driver health.  According to the ATRI’s report, “Past research has shown that the nature of the truck driving profession exposes drivers to lifestyle behaviors that can have negative health consequences (e.g. lack of exercise, poor diet).”

10.  Congestion and Highway Infrastructure

Several factors result in congestion on our nation’s roads including avoidance of toll roads, construction, accidents, etc., resulting in loss of time and thus profits for carriers and drivers.

Also tied in the number 10 spot was highway infrastructure, with the signing of a new two-year authorization bill in July.4

To receive a copy of ATRI’s report, visit http://atri-online.org/2012/10/08/critical-issues-in-the-trucking-industry-2012-report-request/.

How would you rate the top ten concerns in the trucking industry?  What would you consider to be your top concerns?  Share your comments!

Below are the top ten issues stated in ATRI’s trucking Survey from 2005-2012.

top issues

Click to Enlarge

1http://www.atri-online.org/research/safety/ATRI_CSA_Driver_Survey_Results.pdf:

2http://www.todaystrucking.com/graves-addresses-industry-concerns-says-embrace-change

3http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=419974&Itemid=55

4ATRI’s Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry 2012 report

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FMCSA Announces CSA Changes Effective December

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

FMCSAAfter much debate, a four-month preview period, and comment submission process, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on its site Friday the changes that will go into effect for the CSA’s Safety Measurement System this December.

Comment Period

Over 14,000 carriers and 1,700 law enforcement officials participated in the SMS preview, which was open to carriers on March 27th.   With an approaching deadline to comment on the changes originally scheduled for late June, the FMCSA extended its deadline to July 30th.

The FMCSA has been under pressure by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) to change the way crash accountability is recorded.  Last year, carriers complained about high CSA crash scores reflecting accidents in which their trucks were not at fault. In return, the FMCSA developed both a short-term and long-term goal for easing carrier complaints.  Under these goals, trucking companies would be able to appeal who’s accountable for an accident, with a long-term plan aiming to determine accountability before the accident is even registered and factored into the scoring process.

In short-term, crashes would continue to be documented into the CSA database, however, carriers would then be given the option of using a system developed by the FMCSA allowing them to challenge the accountability of an accident by submitting a police report through the CSA data correction system.  Although all accidents will still be recorded in the CSA system, those carriers at fault will be scored heavier then those held non-accountable for an accident.

But as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Steve Keppler explains, this method poses problems when the “reviewer makes a determination on accountability that is different than the officer,” who was actually on the scene, or when their determination differs from the insurance company’s investigation.

Last month, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association announced that it had filed a suit against the FMCSA stating that the agency has been releasing inaccurate driver records to employers that ultimately lead to negative consequences for drivers.  The group had presented three case examples in which drivers had their violations dismissed in court, however, these violations still remained in the system even after they submitted appeals through the agency’s DataQ, violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and affecting future business opportunities.

The Changes

As of December 2012, the following changes will take place:

-“Changing the Cargo-Related BASIC to the HM Compliance BASIC to better identify HM-related safety and compliance problems” 1

In response to concerns over inconsistency in the hazmat category, the FMCSA has decided to make this category private only to carriers and law enforcement until these concerns are addressed. 2

-“Changing the name of the Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service (HOS)) BASIC to the HOS Compliance BASIC” 1

In doing so, violations will be reported more accurately.

-Paper and electronic logs used to record a driver’s hours-of-service will be weighed equally. 2

-“Strengthening the Vehicle Maintenance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) by incorporating cargo/load securement violations from today’s Cargo-Related BASIC” 1

Doing so provides two important benefits:  “It identifies motor carriers with a higher future crash risk for FMCSA interventions” and “removes the bias in the current Cargo-Related BASIC which has resulted in identifying a disproportionate large number of carriers that haul open trailers (e.g. flatbeds) for interventions.” 1


-SMS will include pre-trip inspection violations on intermodal equipment. 3

-“Aligning violations that are included in the SMS with Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspection levels by eliminating vehicle violations derived from driver-only inspections and driver violations from vehicle-only inspections.” 1
Roadside inspection violations will be reported, however, only specific inspection violations will be included in the SMS. 1

-“Removing 1 to 5 mph speeding violations to ensure citations are consistent with current speedometer regulations.” 2

In addition, “the severity weight for speeding violations that do not designate the mph range above the speed limit” will be lowered. 3
Responses

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, who had filed a suit against the FMCSA in July, responded to the changes stating, “We’ve known it’s been a work in progress, and today’s announcement shows that the agency is listening to what truckers have been saying and taking those things into consideration, however, impatience from truckers should not be unexpected when a program has real-life consequences on professionals that know of no other way to do business but safely,” and further emphasized that although it is “a step in the right direction,” it is still not far enough. 4

What do you think of the FMCSA’s changes to the SMS system?  Are they sufficient or do you agree with OOIDA that it is “still not far enough?”

1http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/About/SMS_Changes.aspx

2http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=77837

3http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2012/8/24/CSAcargohazmatchangesfinalizedFatiguedDrivingrenamed.aspx

4http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=24072

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Tonnage/Revenue Expected to Rise as Trucking Industry Struggles to Recruit Drivers

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Once again, the trucking industry demonstrates its important role in freight transportation, comprising of “67 percent of tonnage and 81 percent of revenue in 2011,” according to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast. 1 In fact, according to MarketWatch, “the trucking industry adds about 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product each year.” 2

The ATA’s forecast continues to support the strong growth of the trucking industry, predicting that by the year 2023, total freight tonnage is anticipated to grow 21 percent, 69.6 percent of tonnage deriving from trucking and 15 percent from railroad, with total freight revenues increasing 59 percent, 81.7 percent of this being from the trucking industry. 1

And while the trucking industry is seeing an upside in the years to come, it is still struggling with driver shortage, which is expected to increase to 150,000 by the end of 2012 and reach 240,000 by the end of next year.

This shortage is the result of many combining factors including the trouble of finding new, qualified drivers to replace those who have retired, with this problem becoming worse with a 21-year-old age requirement, stricter regulations, and the cost of training, among many others.  (Check out Retiring Truckers Put Pressure on Driver Shortage, Rising Logistics Costs).

With a decreasing interest in the trucking industry (the number of 25-30 year olds interested in a trucking career has declined by 60 percent), those engaging in truck driving school are being pre-hired by companies in an attempt to recruit drivers and beat out competition, effective once the student completes their training. 3

During this training process (which typically costs a driver around $5,000), students learn skills including “pre-trip inspection, backing and maneuverability skills, and a driving on-the-road test.” 4

Pre-hiring is not the only tactic carriers are using to recruit drivers, but compensation as well.

As Transport Capital Partners explains, “annual pay needs to be above $60,000 to attract sufficient drivers to the industry.” 5 This number falls short with drivers in states such as Tennessee averaging $43,000 a year.

In a report issued by the ATA that interviewed over 50 large fleets, 56 percent of truckload carriers who do not hire inexperienced drivers explained that they are considering doing so. 3

In addition, carriers are also considering opening their own school in order to hire and train those drivers who are inexperienced.  To find a truck driving school near you visit http://www.truckdrivingschools.net/.

Are you an experienced driver looking for the following?

-A reputable carrier

-Excellent pay and benefits

-Flexibility in your work schedule (both part-time and full-time positions available)

-Home time

-A great work environment

-Excellent equipment

-And the chance to make a difference.Alex's Lemonade Awareness Truck

Then look no further than Road Scholar Transport.  Road Scholar has never been cited for a piece of faulty equipment in an accident, has the latest technology installed on our fleet, and makes a difference everyday with our awareness program.  Apply for a job today to become part of our team!

Carriers, would you consider hiring inexperienced drivers to deal with the shortage?  Drivers, what do you base your decision on choosing a carrier to work for primarily on?  List your comments below.

1http://www.todaystrucking.com/ata-forecast-2023-a-merry-year-for-trucking-industry

2http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trucking-industry-continues-to-show-signs-of-improvement-as-number-of-freight-shipments-increased-2012-07-10

3http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2012/7/18/ATAreporthighlightsdataonrecruitmentandretention.aspx

4http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/07/truck_drivers_needed_in_an_exp.html

5http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/jul/22/trucking-companies-struggle-to-find-drivers/

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President Signs Highway Bill Part 3: A National Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

Friday, July 13th, 2012

As part of the recently passed highway bill, Congress is mandating that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration establish a federal drug and alcohol clearinghouse that would contain a database of positive test results as well as refusals.

According to the bill, “Motor carriers will be required to query the clearinghouse when screening new driver applicants and annually thereafter. Third party service agents will be permitted to conduct these inquiries on behalf of motor carriers.” 1

The agency has 2 years to establish a clearinghouse, however, the FMCSA is said to have already been working on a proposal and is expected to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking this year.

The creation of a federal alcohol and drug clearinghouse has been a topic of discussion for years now.  Concerns over whether truckers are legit when undergoing drug and alcohol testing prior to employment rose in 2008 when the Government Accountability Office conducted an investigation, discovering that drivers were able to dilute and adjust their urine samples so that they would test negative for drugs and alcohol, due to testing sites not following proper protocol.

Safety concerns grew even more by a loophole that permits drivers to disclose certain information on their resumes regarding past occurrences, including prior testing.  In an effort to close this loophole and put safer drivers on the road, Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman proposed The Safe Roads Act of 2011 last year.

That act vowed to do the following:

-Require employers to submit all data on tests in which they conducted or their refusal to take the test into the database. 2

-Employers must make sure that a test was conducted within the last three years and whether or not a driver was willing to partake or not. 2

-Employers must check their drivers in the database annually. 2

-Employers will be notified of any “positive test results that show up during the week after an employer’s inquiry.” 2

-Drivers must give their consent before their information is given out to an employer. 2

-Drivers will be notified of any activity regarding their records. 2

-Drivers need to maintain current/accurate records. 2

-Drivers need to undergo proper procedures if tested positive in order to return-to-duty. 2

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has been encouraging a drug and alcohol clearinghouse for several years in an effort to prevent drivers from switching from one job to the next in an effort to dodge drug and alcohol testing. 3

In his recent letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood dated July 2, American Trucking Associations President (ATA) and CEO Bill Graves stated, “ATA is pleased that both DOT and FMCSA are committed to improving truck and highway safety through stepped-up enforcement and through focused drug and alcohol inspections.  However, I continue to be very disappointed with the lack of tangible progress by DOT and FMCSA on a national drug and alcohol test results clearinghouse.” 3

As Graves notes, the agency recently took action in a sweep that occurred April 30th through May 11th which removed 287 drivers from the road and resulted in an additional 128 companies facing action. 5

Graves continued to state, “In March 2009, shortly after your arrival at DOT, FMCSA initiated a rulemaking project to establish a national clearinghouse which ATA had advocated, at this point, for 10 years.  Subsequently, in 2010, FMCSA submitted another report to Congress concerning the need for a national clearinghouse, and included a timeline for completion of agency rulemaking.  However, FMCSA failed to meet that timeline and, at this point, has not even issued a proposed rulemaking.  Unhappy with FMCSA’s progress in developing a national clearinghouse, Congress just included language in the surface transportation reauthorization conference mandating the development of such a clearinghouse.” 4

The ATA, however, showed their gratitude towards President Obama and Congress after the signing of the highway bill last Friday. “It has been 30 months since we have had a true, long-term highway funding bill,” Graves said, “so today’s bill signing is a good thing for trucking and for our national economy.” 6

What are your views regarding the mandatory creation of a federal alcohol and drug clearing house by Congress?  List your comments below.

Read ATA CEO Bill Graves’ letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood regarding the clearinghouse at http://www.truckline.com/AdvIssues/Litigation/Documents/DOC070212.pdf

Don’t forget to stay tuned for an upcoming article on the effects of the mandatory usage of electronic onboard recorders on all trucks.

1http://www.wvtrucking.com/2012062865/Latest-News/house-senate-conferees-reach-highway-bill-agreement-65.html

2http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=73488

3http://www.overdriveonline.com/ata-seeks-action-on-national-drugalcohol-test-clearinghouse/

4http://www.truckline.com/AdvIssues/Litigation/Documents/DOC070212.pdf

5http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=77316

6http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/06/4614404/ata-congratulates-congress-administration.html

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President Signs Highway Bill Part 2: The Effects of the 34-Hour Restart Provision on Carriers/Shippers

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

This is the second of four articles regarding passage of the highway bill and its affects on truckers and shippers.

According to the highway bill signed by the President last Friday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is required to “conduct a field study on the effectiveness of the 34-hour restart provision in its hours-of-service rule.” 1

When the FMCSA presented its hours-of-service ruling last December, it chose to revise the 34-hour restart provision to include two consecutive breaks between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., with an effective date of 2013.

But trucking groups, such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA) as well shippers, including the shipping association NASSTRAC, have been fighting against the 34-hour restart provision, which they believe would do more harm than good.

The Effect on Truckers and Shippers

With two consecutive breaks between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., drivers are arguing that their work week would be drastically reduced from 82 to 70 hours.  Less hours equals less miles and sequentially less pay for those trying to make a living.

Not only does this decrease hit the pockets of the drivers, but in return the trucking company, which now has to account for this loss of time.  As one trucking company notes, “This restriction means that the company will need between 5% and 15% more hours to get the work done.” 2

In that case, it should come as no surprise that this decrease in work hours would lead to productivity problems, limiting a driver’s time on the road, which could cause delivery complications.  These complications spell trouble for shippers who will be facing increased rates to get these shipments picked up and delivered on time due to driver shortages, which then trickles down higher costs to consumers.

Shippers/receivers will also face changes in scheduling, with the need of advanced notice.  As one driver explains, “The changes are going to have to be made at the plants that I haul into. They are going to have to come up with an earlier schedule and stick to it some way so that we have more then a 12-hour notice of where we are loading. That way if I have to plan a camping trip in the truck then I can do so. That way I can pack a few things so that when I get off loaded then I can start heading for the next load spot and take my 10 when the clock runs out. But then they are going to have to start raising the rates because I refuse to camp in my truck for a 100-150 dollar load.” 3

Aside from higher rates and productivity problems, the ATA and others are arguing over the increased congestion and safety risks that would result.  The ATA states that “by mandating drivers to include two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. as part of a ‘restart’ period, FMCSA is assuring that every day as America is commuting to work, thousands of truck drivers will be joining them, creating additional and unnecessary congestion and putting motorists and those professional drivers at greater risk.” 2

In addition, the ATA goes on to state that “The largest percentage of truck-involved crashes occur between 6 a.m. and noon, so this change not only effectively destroys the provision of the current rule most cited by professional drivers as beneficial, but it will put more trucks on the road during the statistically riskiest time of the day.” 2

In order to ease concerns, the bill would require that the FMCSA do a field study that is to be completed by March 31, 2013, which either supports the rule and puts it into effect or would lead to a modification of the ruling if not supported. 4

Have questions about the FMCSA’s 34-hour restart provision?  Then check out the FMCSA’s questions and answers section regarding the ruling at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/hos/HOS_Rule_QAs.pdf.

Do you believe that the FMCSA made the right choice in revising the 34-hour restart provision in its hours-of-service rule to include two consecutive breaks between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.?  What do you consider to be the biggest circumstances of this revision?  List your comments below.

Stay tuned for an upcoming article on the effects of the creation of a federal alcohol and drug clearing house.

1http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29646&t=Congress-Passes-Highway-Bill

2http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2011/12/22/ATAObamaadministrationsfinalHOSruleputssafetyinthebackseat.aspx

3http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/trucking-industry-regulations/164305-fmcsa-releases-hours-service-final-rule.html

4http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=75960&news_category_id=3

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Concerns over CSA Rise as U.S. Court of Appeals Begins HOS Dispute Next Month

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

US Court of AppealsShippers and carriers are becoming more concerned over CSA 2010 as a battle over the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s hours of service ruling last December is scheduled to take place in the U.S. Court of Appeals this July.

According to Transport Capital Partners’ Second Quarter 2012 Business Expectations Survey, 72% of carriers acknowledged the fact that “some of their customers are concerned about CSA scores,” while 21% stated that their shippers are not concerned and “6% said all of their customers are concerned.” 1

With more and more shippers vetting out the carriers they use, and with stricter CSA regulations, an increasing number of carriers over the last two years are becoming more cautious over CSA, with 65% of those carriers participating in TCP’s survey admitting to using at least three different methods to meet regulations. 1

One of the ways carriers are doing this is through electronic on-board recording devices, used to enforce hours-of-service regulations.  Whereas there has been much debate over whether EOBRs should be mandatory, 33% of TCP’s large carrier respondents stated to be already utilizing them.  This, however, differs from small carriers in which over 55% are still using paper logs to record their hours-of-service. 1

One main reason why carriers are not in support of or utilizing EOBRs is cost, which 75% of respondents claimed were at least $500 per driver with 35% stating the cost to be over $1,000 per driver annually. 1

With increasing costs to conduct business, which include rising equipment prices, driver wages, and regulation implementation costs, carriers are raising their rates in order to make a profit.

This month, carriers such as ABF Freight System, Con-way Freight, FedEx, and YRC Freight announced that they would be taking a 6.9% general rate increase while Holland, New Penn Motor Express and Reddaway announced a 6.5% average increase. 2

But prices are not the only thing carriers are battling.  The U.S. Court of Appeals has consolidated lawsuits from groups opposing the FMCSA’s final HOS ruling and will begin taking the disputes to court next month. 3

These suits include those filed by the American Trucking Associations, who wanted the HOS rule upheld believing that it had already proven effective in improving crash prevention, stating truck-related crash reduction statistics, and that the FMCSA manipulated crash statistics in order to justify a reduction in a driver’s hours of service to reduce fatigue related accidents, nearly doubling the statistics from the 7 percent figure that the FMCSA had always claimed to be accurate, along with opposing the restart provision.

In a recent white paper entitled “Compliance, Safety, Accountability – Let’s Not Make it an Ashtray,” the ATA’s Vice President of Safety Policy Rob Abbott states:

“According to the first paragraph of the CSA methodology, the goal of CSA is to implement more effective and efficient ways for FMCSA, its state partners, and the trucking industry to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes, fatalities, and injuries.  Logically, scores in each of the measurement categories should reliably identify carriers more likely to cause crashes. However, in some instances, they do not.  As a result, FMCSA must guard against revising the goal of the program from identifying those carriers that are the crash-prone, to highlighting the importance of regulatory compliance.” 4

Suits also include those filed by Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, who believed that a driver’s HOS should be reduced to 10 hours as well as opposed the restart provision.

Dates are as followings:  July 24th:  Briefs due.  October 24th:  Reply briefs due.  November 21:  Final briefs due.  Oral arguments: TBA. 3

Want to know more about CSA?  Below is a list of CSA guidelines (published in the Federal Register last December) according to the FMCSA’s website (http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos-final/hos-final-rule.aspx):

-11-hour daily driving limit upheld

-A driver “may drive only if 8 hours or less have passed since end of driver’s last off-duty period of at least 30 minutes,” effective July 1, 2013.

-On-duty time “does not include any time resting in a parked CMV.  In moving CMV, does not include up to 2 hours in passenger seat immediately before or after 8 consecutive hours in sleeper-berth.  Also applies to passenger-carrying drivers,” effective Feb. 27, 2012.

-“Waiting time for certain drivers at oilfields must be shown on logbook or electronic equivalent as off duty and identified by annotations in ‘remarks’ or a separate added to ‘grid,’” effective Feb. 27, 2012.

-34-hour restart provision which “must include two periods between 1 a.m.-5 a.m. home terminal time” effective July 1st, 2013.  This decision is said to reduce a driver’s work week from 82 to 70 hours, which would lead to productivity problems since a reduction would limit a driver’s time on the road, which could cause delivery complications and increased rates for shippers (which then trickle down to higher costs for consumers).

If you are concerned about carrier CSA scores, then consider reading about how to manage those and other risks via our white paper, “Supply Chain Insanity-Would you use a Babysitting Found on CraigsList?”  To receive a copy, CLICK HERE.

What is your input on CSA?  As a shipper, are you concerned with a carrier’s CSA scores?  As a carrier, are you finding more shippers concerned with CSA ratings?  List your comments below.

1http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=77230

2http://www.joc.com/trucking/yrc-worldwide-plans-tariff-rate-hikes

3http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=77261

4http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ata-white-paper-urges-fmcsa-to-preserve-csas-original-goal-159761135.html

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SMS Preview Comment Period Extended as ATA Continues to Seek Changes in Crash Accountability

Friday, June 8th, 2012

As of March 27th, carriers were granted the ability to grab a sneak preview of changes to the Safety Measurement System (SMS).  These improvements included:

1.  “Moving cargo/load securement violations from the Cargo-Related BASIC to the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC” in order to “identify carriers with a higher crash risk” and to “effectively address the bias associated with carriers that haul open trailers while still holding all carriers accountable for all cargo securement violations.” 1

2.  “Renaming the Cargo-Related BASIC the HM (Hazmat Materials) BASIC,” which would separate HM violations from load securement violations which are currently categorized together and applying severity weightings to each. 1

3.  “Better aligning SMS with Intermodal Equipment Provider (IEP) regulations.” 1

4.  “Eliminating the vehicle violations derived from driver-only inspections and driver violations from vehicle-only inspections.” 1

5.  “Improving the identification of passenger carriers.” 1

6.  Changing the SMS website’s terminology of ‘Insufficient Data’ (to < than 5 inspections) and ‘Inconclusive’ (to no violations within 1 year), as well as separating injury crashes from fatal crashes and tow-away crashes. 1

With an approaching deadline to comment on the changes originally scheduled for late June, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended its deadline to July 30th, afterwards making any necessary changes before placing it into effect.

By previewing the refined system, carriers will have the ability to diagnose any issues, “request corrections to any inaccurate data,” as well provide any refinements that should be made. 2 Those wishing to do can access the preview by:  1.  Logging onto the CSA website (click here).  To do so, you need to have your U.S. DOT# and US DOT# PIN on hand.  2.  You can also access the preview by logging into the FMCSA Portal (click here).  Once logged in, click on “CSA Outreach.”

The FMCSA has been busy responding to CSA concerns.  Just last March, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro released a letter regarding 2011’s compliance reviews on high-risk carriers. 3 According to Ferro, last year there were 9,868 carriers under mandatory status (those “carriers deemed high risk for two consecutive months”). 3 This demonstrates the need to properly vet your carriers.

The FMCSA has also been under pressure by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) to change the way crash accountability is recorded.

Last year, carriers complained about high CSA crash scores reflecting accidents in which their trucks were not at fault. In return, the FMCSA developed both a short-term and long-term goal for easing carrier complaints.

Under these goals, trucking companies would be able to appeal who’s accountable for an accident, with a long-term plan aiming to determine accountability before the accident is even registered and factored into the scoring process.

In short-term, crashes would continue to be documented into the CSA database, however, carriers would then be given the option of using a system developed by the FMCSA allowing them to challenge the accountability of an accident by submitting a police report through the CSA data correction system.  Although all accidents will still be recorded in the CSA system, those carriers at fault will be scored heavier then those held non-accountable for an accident.

But as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Steve Keppler explains, this method poses problems when the “reviewer makes a determination on accountability that is different than the officer,” who was actually on the scene, or when their determination differs from the insurance company’s investigation.

Last March, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration decided to go back on the proposal that would assess who was at fault in crashes in conjunction with the carrier’s CSA rating, due to concerns with “using just the Police Accident Report and a carrier’s statement to determine crash accountability,” instead of taking into account other input such as witnesses.4

Last Monday, the ATA challenged the FMCSA to “release a study it has done on the feasibility of using police reports to gauge crash accountability,” the same study the agency refused to release in 2010 stating that the findings were preliminary. 5

Other safety groups are also raising questions regarding “the uniformity and consistency of the Police Accident Reports that provide the basic accountability data, and the lack of public input into the determination of accountability.” 5

Have you previewed the FMCSA’s SMS changes yet?  If so, what are your comments regarding the revised system?

Not familiar with the SMS System?  Below are the seven BASIC categories a carrier and driver’s safety performance is scored in:  (*Information provided by Carrier411)

1. Unsafe Driving

Operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) by drivers in a dangerous or careless manner.

Score ranges from 0-100 or Insufficient Data
Deficient Score Threshold
Passenger HazMat Other
50 60 65
Carriers you use will likely be classified as Other

Example Violations: Speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, and inattention.

2. Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service)

Operation of CMVs by drivers who are ill, fatigued, or in non-compliance with the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations. This BASIC includes violations of regulations pertaining to logbooks as they relate to HOS requirements and the management of CMV driver fatigue.

Score ranges from 0-100 or Insufficient Data
Deficient Score Threshold
Passenger HazMat Other
50 60 65
Carriers you use will likely be classified as Other

Example Violations: HOS, logbook, and operating a CMV while ill or fatigued.
3. Driver Fitness

Operation of CMVs by drivers who are unfit to operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualifications.

Score ranges from 0-100 or Insufficient Data
Deficient Score Threshold
Passenger HazMat Other
65 75 80
Carriers you use will likely be classified as Other

Example Violations: Failure to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver’s license and being medically unqualified to operate a CMV.

4. Controlled Substances/Alcohol

Operation of CMVs by drivers who are impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications.

Score ranges from 0-100 or Insufficient Data
Deficient Score Threshold
Passenger HazMat Other
65 75 80
Carriers you use will likely be classified as Other

Example Violations: Use or possession of controlled substances/alcohol.

5. Vehicle Maintenance

Failure to properly maintain a CMV.

Score ranges from 0-100 or Insufficient Data
Deficient Score Threshold
Passenger HazMat Other
65 75 80
Carriers you use will likely be classified as Other

Example Violations: Brakes, lights, mechanical defects, and failure to make required repairs.

6. Cargo-Related  (Data Not Publicly Available)

Cargo-Related data will not be displayed in Carrier411, although it is part of CSA 2010. Failure to properly prevent shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, overloading, and unsafe handling of hazardous materials on a CMV.

FMCSA will show Cargo-Related BASIC violations only. Cargo-Related BASIC score and intervention status will not be on public display.

7. Crash Indicator  (Data Not Publicly Available)
Crash Indicator data will not be displayed in Carrier411, although it is part of CSA 2010. Histories or patterns of high crash involvement, including frequency and severity. It is based on information from state-reported crashes.

1https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/03/27/2012-7360/improvements-to-the-compliance-safety-accountability-csa-motor-carrier-safety-measurement-system-sms#p-7

2http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2012/6/6/FMCSAurgescarrierstopreviewtheirCSAdata.aspx

3http://www.truckersnews.com/fmcsa-reports-gives-congress-report-on-high-risk-carriers/

4http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=76326

5http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=77145

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